Ganesh Chaturthi Sweets Special:

Banana Laddoo

Made With Overripe Bananas

Ganesh Chaturthi sweets are often besan- or rava-heavy, so how about trying this banana laddoo as part of the Ganapati prasad spread? This laddoo recipe features bananas that are too ripe and spotty to eat as fruit, and matta (red) rice roasted and ground into its own flour rather than using store-bought rice powder. It's as much a way to use up overripe bananas before they go to waste as it is a festival sweet, which is part of why it's stayed a practical, low-fuss recipe for a Ganesh Chaturthi spread that already has a lot going on in the kitchen. For this Ganesh Chaturthi sweet, the rice is washed and drained, then dry-roasted over a medium-high flame, stirring continuously until its colour visibly changes. The mixture is finished with a brief roast alongside cardamom and cumin seeds for the last 30 seconds. This is just enough time for the spices to release their aroma without scorching. Once completely cooled, this roasted rice is ground into a fine powder, which serves as both the binding agent in the laddoo dough and the coating dusted over the finished laddoos. For the banana side, ripe bananas are chopped and cooked down in ghee until they soften, then thickened again for about 7-8 minutes. This thickening stage is important, since adding jaggery and rice powder to a still-wet banana mixture would leave the dough too soft to roll. Grated jaggery, a couple of pinches of salt, and a small amount of dry ginger powder go in once the banana has reduced, and the roasted rice powder is folded in gradually and cooked until the mixture is non-sticky enough to hold its shape between your palms.